


take care

by SydneyHorses



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Academy Era, First Kiss, M/M, Post Flame Emperor Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26218033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SydneyHorses/pseuds/SydneyHorses
Summary: After they find Edelgard in the Holy Tomb, Dimitri sequesters himself off alone. Sylvain is left with Dedue, and tries to help pick up the pieces.
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 5
Kudos: 32





	take care

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday dedue i love you... have a birthday kiss like you deserve king

The night everything goes to shit, Dedue spends the evening with Sylvain. They can still hear Dimitri through the walls, despite the thickness of the monastery stone. He roars like the fearsome beast Felix has always claimed him to be, and Sylvain pretends not to hear it, just as he always has.

Sylvain doesn’t know what Dedue is doing, but he knows he’s not pretending.

They haven’t spoken since they got back from the tomb. Dimitri had been half hysterical, locking himself in his room immediately and screaming about killing Edelgard. Dedue had stood outside Dimitri’s locked door, frozen into some terrible statue himself. There wasn’t anything left to do but go to him. Ingrid and Felix had each other, and Sylvain would never be able to understand the ways in which they loved Dimitri.

Dedue, though, he can take care of. 

“Come on,” Sylvain says. “Let’s go sit down.”

Dedue nods, then allows Sylvain to take his arm and lead him back to his room. Sylvain sits Dedue down on his bed, then stands before him with uncertainty, frowning. “Are you alright?”

Dimitri screams from the next room over.

Dedue looks up. “No.”

Sylvain rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah. Fair enough.”

“Why did you come for me?” Dedue sounds flat, uninterested, but Sylvain knows there’s more below the surface. He hasn’t quite mastered the art of learning what each and every subtle inflection or twitch of Dedue’s mouth means, but he’s learning. He’s trying.

Sylvain shrugs and sits down next to Dedue. “What else could I do? You needed someone to take care of you.”

Dedue’s mouth twitches. “And you would take that onto yourself?”

Sylvain looks down at his hands. “I can’t take care of anyone anymore,” he confesses quietly. “I’m not the kid I used to be, and neither are the others. But…” he hesitates. There’s too much honesty in his voice, but he can’t stop it from spilling out. There must be something in the air tonight. Perhaps it’s that the number of secrets the Blue Lions house harbors are growing fewer by the moment. He may as well add to the slaughter. “I think I can take care of you.”

They sit together in silence for a long moment. Sylvain’s heart thuds in his chest, but Dedue seems unaffected at his side, still except for a tightening around his eyes. Sylvain is learning, after all. “Sorry,” he says. “I don’t mean to overstep.”

“You are not,” Dedue says, almost before Sylvain has finished speaking. “I… am unsure of how best to formulate my thoughts.”

Sylvain nods. He just needs time. That makes sense. He can be patient. Dedue can be quiet like no one else, and he can learn to adapt. Sylvain folds his hands into his lap, and waits.

It’s nice to remember that there’s a kind of peace to be found in sitting quietly with one’s thoughts. He doesn't give himself time for self-reflection very often, but Dedue makes him want to change that.

“You are very kind,” Dedue says at last. “What do you want me to say?”

Sylvain’s throat feels like it’s closing up. He’s going to choke to death on this rejection, and he’s not even entirely sure what he’s offering. “Just say what you want.”

Dedue frowns. “I want to keep his Highness safe and content. I want him to succeed in his ambitions. I want…” he trails off.

“I don’t want to be alone,” Sylvain says quietly.

“I don’t want you to be alone,” Dedue replies. There’s a sincerity and firmness to his voice that Sylvain is desperately trying not to read too much into.

“I don’t want you to be alone either,” Sylvain whispers.

There’s an argument to be made that neither of them are alone. Dedue has Dimitri. Sylvain has Ingrid and Felix.

But then again, Sylvain has had the two of them since before he can remember anything else. He knows when he met Dedue. He remembers the day that Dimitri came back from Duscur, missing a father and a friend but with a tall, quiet young man at his side.

After Duscur, Sylvain had been at the Gautier estate more than previously. There’d been the business of Miklan’s inheritance, and his duties as a crest-bearer, and he and Dedue had not had much cause or chance to interact.

At the monastery though, there are no such limitations. Now, Sylvain can look as much as he pleases, and him and Dedue can have every quiet conversation they want.

“Nothing is so simple,” Dedue says. It’s not a refusal.

Sylvain’s blood sings, and he reaches out and carefully places a hand on Dedue’s knee. “I know,” he says. “But I don’t think it’s so complicated either.”

Dedue kisses him.

It’s sudden and unexpected. One moment, there is nothing, and the next Dedue’s lips are on his. He pulls back after a moment, a blush staining his cheeks. Sylvain has never seen Dedue blush before, and now that he’s had it, he wants it again.

“I apologize.” Dedue starts to rise. 

Sylvain’s grip on his knee tightens. “No. Don’t go.”

A pause, and then Dedue sits back down. “Sylvain.”

“Can I kiss you again?” Sylvain sounds half like he’s begging, but he can’t stop.

Dedue hesitates. “I do not wish to pressure you, or make you think that-”

Sylvain reaches up and sets a hand on Dedue’s face. “Please.”

Dedue presses his lips together into a firm line, and then gives a small nod.

This time, Sylvain is the one who leans forward. The kiss is softer, and Sylvain keeps his hand on Dedue’s face, cupping his cheek softly as he moves his lips against Dedue’s. For a moment, it feels like he’s kissing a wall, but then Dedue’s lips part, and one of his hands lifts to settle on Sylvain’s waist. Sylvain lets out a soft, gentle noise at the touch, and tilts his head into the kiss. 

Dedue squeezes his waist, and Sylvain pulls back, taking his hand off of Dedue’s cheek and wrapping it around his shoulders instead. He pulls Dedue closer, climbing half into his lap and then looking down at him. Dedue looks up, eyes wide and his lips parted slightly.

He looks so divine that Sylvain can’t help but lean down and press one more quick kiss to his lips. “You have pretty eyes,” he says softly.

Dedue smiles. It’s barely there, but it’s a smile, and a rare gift that Sylvain is determined to treasure. “Thank you.” He sounds almost bashful. 

Sylvain touches his fingers lightly to Dedue’s earring. It catches the light when it sways, and he traces the shell of Dedue’s ear with a careful finger. “What are you going to do?” He doesn't look at Dedue’s face when he asks it.

They can still hear Dimitri in the other room. Sylvain would like to pretend that they can’t, but it would be foolish. Dedue isn’t the type to blindly pretend that everything is fine. “I am going to kiss you again,” Dedue says. “And then we will see what tomorrow brings.”

Sylvain flushes. “I can live with that,” he whispers, and then bends down to kiss Dedue once more.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter @edelgardlesbian


End file.
